Friday, December 5, 2008

My Top 10: Favorite Black Sitcoms

Well it's Friday, and I haven't posted much in a while. I have lots to tell everybody out there in the blogosphere, plus I have new music coming ASAP. Since I'm back on my grizzly, here's the Friday special...

10. Fresh Prince of Bel Air - At 1st I found it hokey, but came to appreciate the later seasons. Plus as a gear head, it was dope to see what knits Carlton would be rocking

9. The Wayans Bros. - Other than the Jamie Foxx Show, this was the only respectable WB offering, and a solid one at that.

8. Good Times - I didn't enjoy it as a kid, but I do now despite the stereotypes.

7. 227 - I loved this show, and I'm angry its not syndicated more. This show single handily type-casted Jackee Harry for the rest of her career.

6. Living Single - Just a solid show that had one of the most memorable intro songs

5. A Different World - It had the Cosby charm and started my love affair with Jada

4. The Bernie Mac Show - Hilarious, and one of the best written shows in recent memory. I always thought the Mac man was funny, but for me, this cemented his genius.

3. The Jeffersons - It was mildly controversial, but also PC in a very different time

2. Martin - This was arguably the funniest

1. The Cosby Show - In my estimation, the greatest piece of television ever created

before you get your panties in a bunch, I didn't include Chappelle or In Living Color, because they were sketch comedies. There are some honorable mentions, and others that I didn't include because they are too new to really judge. Either way, discuss, tell me your favs, and holla @ me. 1

3 comments:

Vee (Scratch) said...

Dude, you should do your homework on Good Times. It was an incredible show, plus it featured my ex-girl Penny.

But seriously, from the writer, to the actors, to getting it on the air, to behind the scenes drama, etc. it was a serious show.

As far as a television production goes it mirrors many shows like In Living Colour when the network clashes with the original creator/producers of the show.

Note: the dude who created the show was responsible for the film Cooley High and a number of other television programs.

Dude, what happened to Sienfeld?? Mork and Mindy, Entourage, The George Lopez show???

Jay Bird said...

^ ^ Vee, the title of the post answers your question.

Since I have a few minutes,
I'll play like one of the anchors of SportsCenter and comment back on the list:

10. Fresh Prince of Bel Air - The concept of the show drew me in out the gate: The Fresh Prince on an NBC sitcom where it's loosely based on his life. If Yo! MTV Raps brought hip-hop culture to the greater mainstream, then this show spread it around much further. Great characters and great sitcom writing.

9. The Wayans Bros. - Definitely was a more respectable show for the WB. Marlon Wayans caught more exposure, really a funny dude.

8. Good Times - I remember watching it as a kid and I was disturbed yet schooled by its themes. One episode comes to mind where a young brother was down with a gang and he wanted to get his "medals" - shrapnel from slugs - in him to indicate his realness and crew affiliation.

The end of the episode, the young one finally got his "medals" but he wasn't around to appreciate it.

7. 227 - Yeah, where is Jackee these days?

6. Living Single - I slept on this one.

5. A Different World - Yes, the show that Bill Cosby gave to Lisa Bonet to keep her on a more positive track than fucking around with Lenny Kravitz. This was a monumental show for young Black folks. Higher education is a reality.

4. The Bernie Mac Show - Bernie Mac's show was well-done all around. Everybody Hates Chris took a lot of ideas from the playbook from the camera styles to the seamless transitions to different scenes. And Bernie Mac was just getting on fire in Hollywood before he passed.

3. The Jeffersons - The set of the apartment they lived in looked really authentic for its time. Controversial it was, their best friends were an interracial couple, Tom providing the comic relief on a Black sitcom was . . to flip a quote by Chuck D, "the power of Jackie Robinson in reverse."


2. Martin - You got to love the schizophrenic comedic genius of Martin Lawrence.

1. The Cosby Show - This show was an institution for me and probably many others. To hang out with the Huxtables on Thursday nights (was it?) was a warm place in spirit to be. I can write a whole essay on how great this show was but I'll just leave you with, JAM IT ON THE 1

The Incomparable Shakespeare said...

Good look Jay, I definitely appreciate your insights. Everybody Hates Chris is pretty dope, but I rarely catch it. you know what I hated though, Family Matters. I still think that show has no personality